UK SAYS YES TO STRONGER DEFENCE RIGHTS ACROSS EUROPE

Garry Mann with his family

For Immediate Release
 

The Government has opted into EU-wide legislation to ensure everyone arrested in any EU country gets key information about basic legal rights and the charges against them. This is the second in a series of measures to ensure stronger protection of the right to a fair trial across Europe. The first (which the UK also opted in to) guaranteed a right to interpreting and translation facilities for those needing them and was adopted by the European Council earlier this month.

Jago Russell, Fair Trials International’s Chief Executive, said:

“Every week we are contacted by people arrested abroad who have received no information on their basic legal rights or the case against them. All too often, the result is injustice. We are delighted that the UK has decided to sign up to this much-needed EU law, which promises better standards of justice across the European Union.”

Our work on cases in different EU Member States – cases like that of Garry Mann, recently extradited to Portugal – illustrates the serious risk of injustice that arises when people are not given early access to basic information about their legal rights or the charges against them. For years, EU justice policy has focused on greater cooperation between prosecution authorities. These proposals herald a new era of protection for fair trial rights.

For more information please contact Fair Trials International on +44 (0)20 7822 2370 or +44 (0)7950 849 851

Notes to Editors

1. Key elements of the new proposed right:
   All suspected and accused persons in criminal proceedings (including those served with a European Arrest Warrant) must be told their rights at the earliest possible moment, in simple and accessible language. The proposal contains language for a model “Letter of Rights” covering, for example, the right of access to a lawyer, an interpreter, information about the reason for the charge and access to the case file. Member States would have to implement the Directive within two years of its adoption by the European Parliament. Please see a briefing below on the need for this law.
    
2. Defence rights - why the EU must protect them:
   European Member States today cooperate more than ever before in justice matters. This means they must be able to trust in the fairness of each other’s justice systems; equally, people facing charges in Europe must be confident they will be treated fairly, wherever they are charged. This is, unfortunately, a long way from reality. For trust to be established, basic defence rights must be guaranteed by the legal systems of every single Member State and be enforceable by nationals and non-nationals alike. Previous attempts to create these safeguards failed in 2007 when 6 countries (including the UK, Ireland and Poland) vetoed a Commission proposal. FTI welcomes Europe’s renewed focus on defence rights.
    
3. Other defence rights under the Stockholm Programme:
   The “Stockholm Programme” is the five year legislative programme for EU justice and home affairs, adopted in December 2009. It provides the basis for EU legislation on justice matters between 2010 and 2014. The first defence measure – the Directive on Interpretation and Translation – was adopted on 16 June 2010. Further laws are expected, covering: the right to legal advice and legal aid; the right to communication with relatives, employers and consular authorities; the introduction of special safeguards for vulnerable suspects; and a review of pre-trial detention practices. Please see below our briefing on why Europe must act to protect these rights.
    
4. The Directive on Interpretation and Translation: This Directive requires all States to implement legislation by July 2013 to ensure that suspected or accused persons who do not understand or speak the language of the criminal proceedings are given interpretation facilities during all police questioning and court hearings. They should also be given written translations of documents that are essential to their defence, including decisions depriving them of liberty, the indictment and the judgment.
    
5. The European Arrest Warrant: In 2002 the EU created this fast-track system for surrendering people to one country to another to face trial or serve a prison sentence. It was rushed in as part of the EU’s response to the terrorist threat and was meant to help tackle serious cross-border crime more effectively. It has removed all political discretion in extradition decisions, done away with the traditional legal barriers to extradition and made transfers much quicker. It has already been used to transfer thousands of individuals, for example, Garry Mann (below). 
    
6. Garry Mann: Garry was arrested, tried and convicted, all in the space of 48 hours, following disturbances at the Euro 2004 football championships in Portugal. He has always maintained he was elsewhere with friends during the disturbances, but he had no chance to call them as witnesses. He was unaware that Portuguese law provided for a 1 month “stay” of proceedings to prepare a defence. Nor did Garry know what offence he was charged with until he looked over the shoulder of the court interpreter, 20 minutes before the end of the trial, and saw the words “leading a riot”. Despite a British judge labeling his original trial “unfair” there were no grounds to refuse extradition. Garry was extradited in May 2010. 
    
7. Fair Trials International’s Justice in Europe campaign:
   We have long campaigned for legislation at EU level on basic defence rights, because it is the only way to require Member States to deliver on their fair trial obligations, both to nationals and non-nationals. We use the real-life experiences of the people we assist to show the need for these measures.